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Alcoholic drinks from Japan

Kijoshu (sake brewed with sake)貴醸酒

Kijoshu is sake brewed with finished sake in place of part of the brewing water, at the last of the three mash additions. The extra alcohol slows the yeast, so more sugar is left and the sake comes out sweet, thick and often yellow to amber. The method was developed in 1973 at the national brewing institute, now NRIB.

Fully documentedAlcoholic drinks2 daysFamily: Sake (base flow: junmai, sokujo starter)

Recipe

Amounts from a sourceNo fixed batch size in the sources used here. The institute's 1976 report (abstract only) sets the amount of sake by the alcohol it brings to the mash water, about 9.5 %.
Steamed rice and koji riceAs for ordinary sake, added in three stages[saketimes2021][jss-nrib2011]
WaterThe full amount for the first two additions; less at the third[saketimes2021]
Finished sakeEnough to bring the alcohol in the mash water to about 9.5 %Added at the last (tome) addition in place of water; the institute's report gives the 9.5 % target[sato1976]
Starterkoji/qu/mold-starter (koji rice) with sake yeast

Total time across the recorded steps: 2 days

Start
Drag the bar or press Play
shapes, not to countAspergillus oryzae30 °C

What changes: Koji mould spreads over the steamed rice and fills it with enzymes

Step 1 of 5
Make koji
Time
2 days
Reported
Temperature
30 °C
Reported
Salt
None given
Acidity
Not documented
Which microbes the steps name, step by step
Aspergillus oryzae
Yeasts
Moulds

As in all sake brewing. Output: koji rice.

Flavour
Not documented
Texture
Not documented
Colour
Not documented

Microbes at work in this step

Aspergillus oryzae grows through the rice and makes the enzymes

Method

Measured measured in a studySet fixed by a specification or tested recipeReported one source reports itTypical a general value, not sourced for this fermentUnconfirmed not yet checked against a source

At a glance

Kijoshu is sake brewed with finished sake in place of part of the brewing water, at the last of the three mash additions. The extra alcohol slows the yeast, so more sugar is left and the sake comes out sweet, thick and often yellow to amber. The method was developed in 1973 at the national brewing institute, now NRIB. Made in 5 steps over 2 days. The longest step, make koji, takes 2 days (Japan Sake and Shochu Makers Association and…) and runs at 30 °C (Japan Sake and Shochu Makers Association and…). Aspergillus oryzae and Saccharomyces cerevisiae (sake yeast), its growth held back by the added alcohol do most of the fermenting.

Key numbers
Main step2 daysReported[jss-nrib2011]Make koji
Temperature30 °CReported[jss-nrib2011]Make koji

What makes this one different

Ordinary sake uses water for all three mash additions. Kijoshu replaces part of the water at the last addition with finished sake. The extra alcohol slows the yeast, so the sake stays sweet instead of fermenting dry.

Related ferments

Variants

  • Aged kijoshuKept for years, so it turns amber; a sub-type the NRIB guide names.
  • Namazake kijoshuUnpasteurised; also named by the NRIB guide.

Safety

Namazake kijoshu, a sub-type the NRIB guide names, is unpasteurised. The guide says namazake deteriorates quickly and should be refrigerated at no more than 5 °C.

History and sources

Every number is labelled with how it is known. How this atlas is made

The Engishiki (927) records shiori, a mixing method that used sake instead of water. The national brewing institute developed modern kijoshu in 1973, and Enoki Shuzo in Hiroshima began producing it in 1974, the first brewery in Japan to do so. The name is a trademark of the Kijoshu Association, so non-members label similar sake with other names.

  1. [jss-nrib2011] Japan Sake and Shochu Makers Association and National Research Institute of Brewing 2011, A Comprehensive Guide to Japanese Sake, 1st ed.gov
  2. [jetro2016] JETRO 2016, Hiroshima Sake (brewery profiles; Enoki Shuzo first produced kijoshu in 1974)gov
  3. [saketimes2021] Lanark D.W. 2021, SAKE 101 Kijoshu, SAKETIMES, 1 November 2021web
  4. [sato1976] Sato M., Tadenuma M., Oba T., Takahashi K. 1976, 清酒を原料とした新しいタイプの清酒(いわゆる貴醸酒)について (a new type of sake made from sake, so-called kijoshu), J. Brew. Soc. Japan 71(6):469–475 (abstract)paper
  5. [klinkaew2023] Klinkaewboonwong N. et al. 2023, Targeted mutations produce divergent characteristics in pedigreed sake yeast strains, Microorganisms 11(5), 1274 (abstract and introduction)paper
  6. [wp-sake] Wikipedia, Sake (outline only; kijoshu, saijo-jikomi and the Engishiki shiori method)wiki